Disqualification, no effort & Co: Nick Kyrgios' six biggest scandals
Nick Kyrgios has a long list of freaks and scandals in his young career. We took a closer look at the six largest ones.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Apr 03, 2020, 01:30 pm
Nick Kyrgios polarizes like no other player on the ATP tour. Some love him for his cracking foreheads, his irresistible stop balls and his penchant for tweening. The others hate him for his freaking out, for his disrespectful actions towards his opponents, the referees, the public and the sport itself. In the following, we review his six greatest mistakes.
6.Miami 2019: Kyrgios is in a violent duel with viewers
If it is purely about the playful performance, this game Kyrgios´ would definitely not have earned a place on this list. The Australian was in a splendid mood to play, practically demonstrated Dusan Lajovic - who had at least taken Kei Nishikori out of the tournament one round earlier. In such games, however, the 24-year-old has a tendency to want to do magic in particular. What makes the audience in ecstasy is not always nice for the opponent - sometimes quite disrespectful. This was how a fan in Miami saw it when Kyrgios repeatedly started to serve underarm. A heated battle of words ensued, in which the fan was obviously not entirely innocent. In front of the camera, the Australian asked him: "Have you got nothing better to do on a Sunday evening than watching me?"
5. Wimbledon 2019: Preparation for the duel with Rafael Nadal in the pub
"I'm not the most professional player. I don't think I can win a Grand Slam at the moment," said Nick Kyrgios after his second-round loss to Rafael Nadal last year at Wimbledon. And the preparation for the encounter with the 19-time major winner could not have been more unprofessional, as the Australian had stayed in a pub until around 11:00 p.m. the previous evening. Nevertheless, Nick Kyrgios was able to challenge the Spaniard on the pitch, but had to surrender in four sets after two lost tie breaks. In the subsequent press conference, the powerful "Aussie" then afforded another derailment: When asked by a journalist whether he would have played better, he would not have gone to the pub, because Kyrgios replied: "You look too excited that you have this You could ask a question. You have to have a really boring life. "
4. Shanghai 2016: No Effort against Mischa Zverev
Fight until the last rally, never give up, always believe in yourself - all attributes that make up the big names in tennis. Attributes that Nick Kyrgios likes to miss. He did this particularly well in his round of 16 duel with Mischa Zverev at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai. The Australian let the winners hit next to him, made no move to play back the (sometimes easily accessible) balls of his opponent. And yet the bad boy was not going fast enough, so he almost begged the chair umpire to "call Time" faster so that he could "finish this match and go home." And also for the viewers, who expressed their displeasure with the performance of the Effent terrible with "boos", Kyrgios had clear words ready in the subsequent press conference: "I didn't tell anyone that he should come here. Just go again. I didn't invite you. " The consequence: a fine of 15,000 euros for a code violation.
3rd Rome 2019: Disqualification after throwing a chair
Casper Ruud had to fight significantly more than Mischa Zverev in his second round duel at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome with Nick Kyrgios. Even though he didn't even have to finish the match. After the Australian had equalized to 1: 1 sets, but had to serve in the decisive third round, Kyrgios completely freaked out. When he got a penalty point, he kicked a bottle into the square - and threw a folding chair right behind. This set a game penalty for Kyrgios. A decision that the 24-year-old did not want to accept at all and left the pitch. The punishment immediately followed: The Australian was disqualified.
2. Cincinnati 2019: The slightly different toilet break
Referees don't always have it easy with Nick Kyrgios. Again and again they are the focus of the Australian scolding tirades. This also applies to this second round match in Cincinnati. Nick Kyrgios said that the shot clock had started too quickly, swung towards the ricochet in the direction of Rafael Nadal: "If Rafa plays so fast, I will step back from tennis!" Kyrgios scolded at the referee. After Khachanov equalized to 1-1 sets, the Australian asked for a toilet break. This was denied to him, but Kyrgios did little to interest him. The Australian nevertheless set off for the catacombs - two thugs in his luggage. A few seconds later he came back with these - but none was intact. A little later Kyrgios had to give up the game, had a few less forgiving farewell words ready instead of a handshake towards the referee: "You're af ****** tool, bro." The result: a probation game for the next six months.
1. Montreal 2015: "Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend"
Things were particularly rough in Montreal in 2015. In his duel with Stan Wawrinka, Nick Kyrgios afforded several verbal mistakes, the worst was even caught by TV cameras: "Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend, sorry to have to tell you that, buddy." Wawrinka hadn't heard this live, only after the game had the Swiss heard about it - and was accordingly outraged: "" It is not the first time that he has major problems in terms of what he says and how he does it I hope the ATP will take tough measures against them, "said the three-time Grand Slam winner, clear words what he thought of the words of Kyrgios.